Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
- Collapsing
- isolated
• Observed a handful of small (D1) sluffs and soft slabs running on steep cut banks above Highway 2 and the Middle Fork. • Visibility of the avalanche terrain above the rail was very limited or non-existent. • Snowfall picked up last night and by 1700 hours the Canyon floor accumulated 5-9”. • Wind loading was severe between Java East and Devil Creek with fresh wind slabs forming on the Canyon floor. • On the ski tour I observed a few signs of instability such as some shooting cracks and audible collapses. These were at low elevations and likely occurred on a depth hoar layer. • There is about a foot of snow in the Burnout path with a layer of weak depth hoar at the ground (photo). No shooting cracks or collapses observed in this path. • Dug a snow pit in the Shed 4D avalanche path at 5800’ elevation on east facing slope (pit profile). Generally found soft, weak snow in the upper and mid-pack with a layer of facets on top the uppermost crust about 20” down from the surface. • Overall, the snowpack is weak and somewhat brittle and missing a cohesive slab resting on these weak layers. But I was mostly in wind-sheltered terrain and suspect conditions were more unstable where wind slabs are more prevalent.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- intense
- Recent Snowfall
- 11-22
- Snow Avail For Transport
- large amounts
• Overcast or obscured skies with heavy snow, S2, sometimes higher at times. Snow density is currently very light, about 5%. • Winds where light where I toured, but moderate to strong in the Canyon to the west. • Temperatures were in the single digits °F.